Ramblings about what's happening on the farm, with our accommodation and the loveable alpacas

Those are 2 words that strike fear and hope in my heart. Fear of being without my iPhone and iPad (not to mention laptop for an length of time (and by that I mean over 2 hours) and hope, that I can rid the overwhelm that my daily digital digesting affords me.

There has been a lot of coverage in the news recently about our increasing appliance reliance especially when travelling. The Daily Mail reported that for most people, it has become a travel essential, and that a ‘digital detox’ revolution is taking place -a chance to embrace the holiday free from modern technology and reminders of homelife.

They state that half of Brits admit to checking work e-mails while on holiday, while a third regret spending so much time on them. As a result rural getaways are becoming more popular in ‘digital detox’ revolution, many with no signal and no Wi-Fi, offering a chance to leave smartphones and tablets firmly switched off and enjoy the sights and scenery.

Frances Booth, writing for Forbes Magazine says ‘Day to day in the digital world, we face near constant demands for our attention. And if we don’t let ourselves recharge and reboot, this can mean we quickly burn out or become inefficient’.

Booth recommends that by doing a digital detox, we give ourselves chance to step back temporarily. When we return, recharged, we’re more productive and have a different perspective. We’re also likely to have at least one great idea while we’re ‘not thinking about it’.

She also suggests that it ‘gives us chance to get back intune with our own rhythms and the rhythms of nature, rather than trying to keep up with the pace of the digital world. It lets us dictate how we spend our own time, rather than spending all our time answering other people’s demands’.

Telford Teacher, Martin Scott, head ofthe Old Hall School in Wellington, planned a digital detox week to try to wean youngsters off their favourite electronic devices.

He is trying to encourage them to find alternatives to technology – such as talking to each other or playing cards. Scott says “When we take school trips or holidays, we don’t allow mobile phones,” he said.“We’re hoping to challenge children to live without their mobile devices for a week.

The Huffington Post challenged readers to get off their phones for Valentines Day “Valentine’s Day is all about being with your partner, showing them you care,” says relationship expert Susan Quilliam. “One of the key ways you can do this is to give them your full attention. And, while phones are wonderful 364 days a year, they’re also a distraction, bringing in the outside world and taking thatfull attention away from the relationship.

Here are our suggestions for a digital detox:

· Switch off all mobiles, smartphones,tablets, laptops, and computers for a certain length of time.
· Spend your screen-free time doing whatever you enjoy. A digital detox is also a chance to recharge and rest.
· A digital detox should ideally be around 24 hours long as a minimum. It can be 72 hours or more if you want to build up to that.
· If you are going off grid, leave your devices in the car, that way you will have them for emergency phone calls but won’t be tempted to check them all of the time. Or Use that really old Nokia that is lurking at the bottom of the drawer, you know the one, has a phone, basic text and the Snake game, and is perfect as an emergency camping phone as it has a battery life of over a week.
· Take a camera! One of the biggest reasons for people taking their digital devices is that they need it for their camera. You can buy standalone cameras that don’t have a phone on them! Even better, try out some old style film cameras for a bit of fun (remember that feeling of getting your prints back from Boots after your hols?!)

Last week saw the return to our screens of Tales from Northumberland with Robson Green (ITV1 8.00pm), a series which sees actor Robson Green return to his home turf tonight to lead viewers through a unique part of Britain that remains close to his heart. With this in mind, I thought I’d share my own thoughts on Northumberland and why I think that it is such a fantastic place to visit.

I’ll start with a bit of a confession. I’m not a native Northumbrian. I spent my early years in the suburbs of South Tyneside and, despite it being almost on my doorstep; Northumberland wasn’t a place I knew a great deal about. I associated it with farms and coal mines and strange accents and unpronounceable place names like Ulgham, Bellingham and Wark (pronounced Uffham, Bellinjum and Walk). I had an awareness that there was a big county up here, with open countryside, castles and a coastline; but it wasn’t until I moved up here in 2005 that I began to appreciate just how diverse and fascinating a place it actually is. It may sound like a cliché (and I try to avoid clichés like the plague), but there really is something here for everyone.

Seahouses

There are all sorts of landscapes to take in, from the mountainous Cheviots to the forest of Kielder to the stunning 30 miles of beaches including the beautiful Druridge Bay. There are historic market towns such as Alnwick, Berwick, Rothbury, Hexham and Morpeth to visit. There are thousands of years of history encapsulated in features such as Hadrian’s Wall, Alnwick Castle (used as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films) and Bamburgh Castle, the venue for our own wedding in 2012. Some of the darkest skies in the country at Kielder Observatory, or coastal nature reserves at like the Farne Islands, Coquet Island and (of course) Druridge Bay.

Druridge Bay, Northumberland

So whether you’re a cyclist or a stargazer, windsurfer or walker, whether you want an adventure or a relaxing escape, whether you’re a biologist or historian or if you just want a nice pint and some home cooked food in an old fashioned country pub there’s plenty of good reasons to come to Northumberland.

Bamburgh castle

I couldn’t even begin to list everything that there is to see and do in Northumberland in one blog, much as Robson Green couldn’t fit everything into one programme (or even series), so I’ll spend the next few weeks sharing my thoughts and experiences to help you all to realise that Northumberland is somewhere that you really must visit.

Who doesn’t love pulled pork?! And it is amazing cooked over a campfire, just remember to start early as the longer this is cooked the better. We love it for sandwiches the next day, but make sure it is stored in the cool box safely.

I love cheesy potatoes, and I love Dutch oven cooking so when I stumbled across this recipe by the fab foodie website One Sweet Appetite thought I was in Glamping heaven! Totally recommend a look at their fab website and check out their recipe in details for photographic instructions.

Here is what you will need:

Potatoes
Bacon
Cheese
Onions
Salt and pepper

(The amounts will vary depending on your dutch oven size)

Start by slicing your potatoes and onion. Chop up the bacon and add it to your warm dutch oven.

Spoon out the cooked bacon. Leave the grease in the bottom of the pan. Here is where you start to layer your ingredients. First potatoes, sprinkled with salt and pepper, followed by onions, cheese and bacon. Repeat layers and cook for 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.

Camping food should be either exciting or comforting. One of the great things about cooking outdoors is doing something a bit different, and cooking a chicken on a beer bottle is certainly different! There are many versions of this, but we love this one from Campingcafe.com.

Make three or four openings in the top of the can with a bottle opener.
Empty 1/3 of the beer out to make it only 2/3 full of liquid. Lightly oil the exterior of the can with vegetable oil.
Wash chicken inside and out and pat dry with paper towels.
Loosen skin and rub 2 teaspoons of dry Cajun seasoning (or your favorite grilling rub or grill seasoning) under skin.
Create slits in the chicken and stuff with peeled garlic cloves
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of seasoning into cavity
Cover the tips of the leg bones with tin foil to prevent burning.
Set up gas or charcoal grill for indirect grilling. For charcoal grills, mound briquettes into two piles on opposite sides of grill. Light. Heat only one side of gas grill, at a temperature of 350 degrees F.
Stand the beer can on an aluminum pie plate, piece of aluminum foil or special beer can chicken roasting pan. Carefully ease the chicken onto the can, and spread drumsticks away from the body to support the bird in a tripod position.
Add chicken, locating the bird between the two piles of charcoal on charcoal grills, or on the side away from heat on gas grills.
Cover the grill and barbecue chicken over indirect heat for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the breast meat reaches 165 degrees F.
Remove chicken carefully, as there may be hot liquid remaining in the can.